There was no shortage of news in the near west suburbs in 2012. Here is a recap, in no particular order, of some of the stories that made headlines during the year.

Oak Street Bridge plans inch forward

The village of Hinsdale continued to work on plans for replacing a 127-year-old steel-and-timber bridge that spans the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad tracks just east of the downtown. The plans call for a two-lane bridge that will be three feet higher than the existing bridge, 20 feet wider and 50 feet longer. It also will require some changes to Oak Street and other adjacent streets. A public hearing is to be scheduled on the project in January. Construction is slated to take place in 2015 and to be finished by 2016.

Hospital pavilion opens

After an 18-month construction phase, Hinsdale Adventist Hospital's new patient pavilion opened in the spring. The project featured 135 new private patient rooms with many home-like amenities, a new patient entrance on the south wing and a large lobby area with natural light, and a new covered driveway on Oak Street.

R-rated movie controversy in D86

Portions of R-rated movies will continue to be shown in classes at Hinsdale South and Hinsdale Central high schools despite outcry from some community members and parents. A parent, and now school board candidate, Victor Casini, complained to the board of Hinsdale Township High School District 86 when portions of such films as "Brokeback Mountain" and "American Beauty" were slated to be shown in a film as literature class at Hinsdale Central. Some board members asked that the showing of the R-rated films be suspended until the district could review its policy on how curriculum, including such ancillary items as movies, is approved. In October, the board voted 5-2 not to conduct a review of how curriculum is approved.

Change in electricity provider

Hinsdale, Elmhurst and other communities throughout the Chicago area looked to decrease utility bills by allowing competitors to the electrical giant, ComEd, vie for their business. Voters in Hinsdale and Elmhurst both passed referendum questions allowing local officials to negotiate an aggregation deal, that allows residents to automatically get a lower rate from a different provider, or to "opt out" of the deal and stick with ComEd or sign up with another provider.

In Elmhurst, the new supplier allows consumers to get their electricity at a rate of 4.83 cents per kilowatt hour for its contract, while Hinsdale chose Nordic Energy Services LLC as its alternative provider at a rate of 4.63 cents per kilowatt hour. The ComEd effective rate is about 8.50 cents per kilowatt hour, according to the Village of Hinsdale's website.

Police departments might merge

The villages of Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills continued to move forward with a proposal to merge their two police departments into one. The cost-saving measure would be groundbreaking, and will require a new state law if the departments are to be consolidated.

Village president dies in office

Lombard's longtime Mayor William Mueller, 76, of Lombard died in August of complications from the West Nile virus. The village's longest serving mayor also had suffered from blood cancer. His death was one of four reported in DuPage County from West Nile, according to the DuPage County Health Department website. As of Nov. 19, there were 54 confirmed cases in the county.

After Mueller's death, village trustees haggled at several meetings over who should be named as village president. They agreed on a power-sharing agreement that allows for two trustees to share the post until the April election.

Mayors step down

Both Pete DiCianni, former mayor of Elmhurst, and Gary Grasso, who held the same post in Burr Ridge, resigned their municipal positions after winning spots on the DuPage County Board in November. DiCianni represents District 3; Grasso represents District 2. Both men had said they wanted to hold their municipal and county offices simultaneously. But voters frowned on that and indicated they didn't want elected officials holding more than one elected office at a time when a question was put to them on the November ballot by both DuPage County and the city of Elmhurst.

Oak Brook's population is aging

The village of Oak Brook named a committee of residents tasked with trying to attract new residents to the community. Officials from the village and Butler School District 53 are troubled by the village's decreasing population and the increasing average age of residents. According to 2010 U.S. Census figures, the village's population went from 8,702 in 2000 to 7,883, a drop of 819 or 9.41 percent. The median age is 54 compared with 50 in 2000.

The committee will make recommendations on ways to attract younger families to Oak Brook. Officials said the aging population could impact school enrollment, property upkeep and ultimately property values.

D53 floats idea for new school

Officials from Butler Elementary School District 53 put forward a plan to consolidate two schools, $40 million campus on village-owned land, but some older residents in Oak Brook weren't as enthused about the idea. The district is suggesting that it consolidate two schools, Brook Forest Elementary and Butler Middle School, at one new school that would be built on land at the SportsCore, 31st Street and York Road.

District officials said they want to build a new school because the existing ones are each between 40 and 50 years old. The Oak Brook Village Board would need to authorize an April referendum to put the question to voters on whether they approve of it being used for a school.